There is definitely one item that I once considered a luxury, which I now consider a necessity: my laptop computer. Yes, I could live without it…if I had to. But I am so glad that I don’t have to give it up. And when I say ‘laptop,’ I am including with that a connection to the internet (am I being greedy?). Now, I have a flat screen TV (no cable, mind you), a smartphone, a late model car, a bike, an electronic piano, a couple guitars and some low tech items (microwave, coffeemaker, iPod). I like having these things, and some of them I use daily. But the one thing that has become nearly essential to me is my laptop. I use it to do work, to make lists, to budget, and it is where my music collection resides. It is my window to the world, the device I would first turn to if I needed a job, and my tool for self-expression (yes, for writing here and other writing I do). It also provides much of my entertainment (Netflix, Second Life, etc.) Yes, my laptop is the one luxury I would find hardest to do without.